LT1 w/old style distributor
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 5,032
Likes: 204
From: Greenwood Indiana
2021 C4 of the Year - Modified Finalist
C4 of Year Finalist (appearance mods) 2019
LT1 w/old style distributor
I was at Good Guys in Indy today and saw a 62 Nova convertible with an LT1 in it. I had to look twice. No opti!!! It had a conventional distributor in it. I didn't know this was possible. Do you machine the intake to accept the dist. and put in a cam to drive it?
No owner in sight to ask. Have any of you guys seen this before?
No owner in sight to ask. Have any of you guys seen this before?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 7,625
Likes: 4
From: Director of Bands
St. Jude Donor '08
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 10,641
Likes: 13
From: Slidell Louisiana
There's a hole in the block where the distributor sits in a normal SBC. The hole is used for the oil pump drive (looks like the bottom half of a distributer)
So I'd say the lt1 could be made to use a rear distributor.
If you look at the back of the engine you will see the oil pump drive.
So I'd say the lt1 could be made to use a rear distributor.
If you look at the back of the engine you will see the oil pump drive.
Last edited by aboatguy; Jun 9, 2007 at 09:27 PM.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 5,032
Likes: 204
From: Greenwood Indiana
2021 C4 of the Year - Modified Finalist
C4 of Year Finalist (appearance mods) 2019
So if this is the case, why don't more people go to this if their opti goes bad? Seems like a $200 fix to a $500 problem. 
Safety Car
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 4,659
Likes: 82
From: Toronto ontario
I had to run a dist in my LT4 388 solid roller to spin it to 8k rpm. FUel rails had to be cut and an fitting welded to get around the dist. Stock ecu was also removed and a Gen 7 dfi runs everything with all the stock guages and display working perfect 
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 14,130
Likes: 7
Cruise-In II Veteran
You may have seen the Miniram as well...the miniram is designed for the earlier sbc with rear conventional distributor,but the kit can cost you 1200 bucks for everything,or more!!
www.tpis.com sells it.
It looks ALOT like the LT1 intake,but has water jackets in the intake manifold while the actual LT1 does not,to use with older sbc head design.
I also wondered in the past if someone with a LT1,installing a distributor,if it would be beneficial over the opti.Would be cool if someone sold a wire harness kit/oil drive parts to hook it up and made it work.Would be a far cheaper cost alternative in the long run.
www.tpis.com sells it.
It looks ALOT like the LT1 intake,but has water jackets in the intake manifold while the actual LT1 does not,to use with older sbc head design.
I also wondered in the past if someone with a LT1,installing a distributor,if it would be beneficial over the opti.Would be cool if someone sold a wire harness kit/oil drive parts to hook it up and made it work.Would be a far cheaper cost alternative in the long run.
I plan on putting an LT1 motor in a TPI car and using a distributor and the TPI wiring. Anyone ever do this?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 8,838
Likes: 31
From: Australia
(ECM , wiring ,dist ) it would work.
Have to do the same intake mod to mount the dist as mentioned above..
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 10,641
Likes: 13
From: Slidell Louisiana
The opti is difficult to work on due to location; however, most optis provide tens of thousands of miles of trouble free operation (some have more than a 100K on them.)
It seems that when someone has LT1 problems, a bunch of people start to post "check the opti" even for problems that could never be ignition related. Some people have problems with their OPTIs however, if the opti is as bad as its reputation how come most 92-96 LTX corvettes/F-bodies and B-bodies have soooo many miles on them.
The standard SBC rear distributer is not bullet proof nor water proof; yet it seems no one complains when it needs a cap and rotor, gets wet due to a pressure washing and fails, or needs replacement due to wear.
The real problem is that the rear mounted SBC distributor's location makes a distributor change a simple and quick task, and in comparison the opti is an afternoon of wrenching.
Time to pressure wash my engine bay. Mike
Last edited by aboatguy; Jun 10, 2007 at 09:47 AM.
